HISTORY OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Co.; New York: Newman & Ivison, 1860. 12mo. [6] and [13]-286 pages, plus [4] pages preliminary ads dated 1859 and [1] page review of this book placed before the title. Original quarter black leather over black cloth with gilt rules and lettering on spine. [19.5 cm.] Ex-library with tasteful bookplate on front pastedown, embossed stamp on a few leaves including title, and number stamp on verso of title and in margin of one other page. Else a good copy. Spine is worn with small loss at head; barely noticeable external tissue repair to front hinge; corners worn. Dampstain to lower margins at gutter throughout, not affecting text. Occasional light foxing; large area of foxing to pp. 142-143, in no way affecting legibility. Some early ownership marks in pencil on endpapers and a few brief marginal notes in pencil. FOURTH EDITION, being a reprint of the enlarged edition of 1853. The first edition was published in St. Louis in 1852 and reissued in Cincinnati later the same year. The first edition, dealing with the exploration and colonization of the Mississippi Valley by the French, only covered events up to 1748. The enlarged edition continues the narrative to the early 19th century to discuss Anglo-American expansion into the region, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the Northwest Indian War. Adolphus Mordecai Hart (1814-1879) was a Montreal lawyer known in part for his advocacy of the rights of Canadian Jews. From 1850 to 1857, he lived in New York, where he was active in the Democratic Party and worked for Horatio Seymour's gubernatorial campaign. He wrote several other books on diverse subjects, including "Uncle Tom in Paris; or Views of Slavery Outside the Cabin" (1854), but the present volume was his chief historical work. See Howes 254.